SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SLM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of SLM from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $28.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Compass Point upgraded shares of SLM from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.80.

SLM Stock Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.81 on Monday, hitting $22.63. 870,616 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,836,595. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. SLM has a 52 week low of $17.77 and a 52 week high of $34.97. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.04.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $559.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $486.05 million. SLM had a net margin of 26.42% and a return on equity of 34.80%. SLM’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that SLM will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.40%.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,131,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 1,289.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 62,092 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $951,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of SLM by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 12,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, operating as Sallie Mae Bank, is a leading U.S.-based consumer banking company specializing in education financing and related banking products. The company provides a range of private student loans for undergraduate and graduate studies, Parent PLUS loans, and specialized financing for career and certificate programs. In addition to its core lending services, Sallie Mae offers deposit products including savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and credit cards tailored to students and young adults.

Founded in 1972 as the Student Loan Marketing Association—a government-sponsored enterprise—Sallie Mae was privatized in 2004 and has since focused on expanding its private education loan offerings and digital banking solutions.